Vehicle lamp



July 22, 1941. F. w. scHwlNN VEHICLE LAMP Filed May s, 19:59 2sheets-sheet 1 July l22, 1941.

\ F. w. scHwlNN VEH I CLE LAMP 2 sheets-sheet 2 Filed May 6, 1939Patented July 22, 1941 ti.o@Fisici'.

My invention relates to vehicle lamps, and especially to streamlinedlamps for use-on bicycles, motorcycles, .automobiles and'aircraft. .lltis especially `adapted for ther type oflamp which isoperated by oneformore-dry cells within the lamp housing, although it is applicable tolamps using outside sources ofV electriclcurrent.

The principal object of my invention ris the .provision for a mountingof=the forwardlyfconvexed lens in such a manneras to eliminate theconventional bezel and to eliminate any shoulder or other break in thestreamlining of therouter casing of lthe lamp where it meets 'the lens.A subordinate object is to realize this primary objective by aconstruction which is simple foolproof,` and economical to manufacture,A

"In previous attempts'to solve the problem of preserving the streamlinedconformation or'contour of the lamp where the lens joins thelamp casing,it has been proposed to sink the bezel so that its outer `surface comesinline with the desired streamlined lamp conformation, but this hasinvolved a rather complicated'form of bezel and there have inherentlyhad tobe'y two exposed lin'esrepresenting the front and backv edges oi ythe bezel. I' propose to keliminate the bezelwith out complicating' theremaining parts. Y

The `foregoing 'together with further "objects, features andadvantages'of myl invention, areset forth in the following' descriptionofspecic'embodiments' thereof 'and' illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings wherein: Y

Figfl-is aside elevation ofthe front part of va bicycleshowing a lampaccord-ing to my Avinventionmounted onthe front Wheel fender;

Fig. 2 is a verticalmedial "longitudinal ofthe lamp of Fig.1;

Fig. 3 `is a fragmentary sectional View fof the front end of-thelamp;similarto Fig. v2, but showingthelens and kother parts y-at anYintermediate stagev of application;

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the lamp;

Fig. 5 is a side elevation of the lamp;

Fig. 6 isa front Velevationrof the lamp;

Fig. 7 is a transverse vertical'section taken' on the line l--l of Fig.2;

Fig.4 8 is a transverse vertical section looking rearwardly and takenalong the line '8 8 of Fig.`2;` Y 'F-ig. 9 is a horizontal section takenon the line 9--9 of Figs. Zand'; vvand Fig. 10 is a verticallongitudinal 'sectionofthe frontend 'of a lamp, similar to Fig. 2, butshowing a modification. 1

As shown in Fig, 1, the lamp I5 `ismounted section `on the` front :wheelfenderf Ilf of-"abicycle l'and' is centered a little forward :ofA-'afposition 'directly over the` front axle, vwith thel result thatthe` axis V.ofi-the lampV is slightly inclined downwardly and forwardly.

As shown inillig.2,-the-lamp-l5 Vis-mounted on the fender by `-apair-of` cap screws I1 extending up, through/theA fender I-'B and'Athreaded into' `the bottom:- side of the lamp casing or shell I8.

.In the formj-here shown, -thecasing `I8 together withthe --lens |9isconformed to givet the lampa general-ly` cigar-snapedforfelongatedteardrop .shaped contour, although an ornamental Avertical #1in y2 0maybe radded*- to the top side. VThe .toconform to the exterior contour.f

A set .of three arcuately spaced `longitudinal ribs `22 .extend inwardlyfrom the Wall `of the `borell to receive `rathersnugly apair ofdry cells23 arranged tandemwise. `',Iherbs 22 serve two functions. One is toreduce the surface contact betweenthe `casing and the dry cells, so thatif the "dry cells should corrode and'tend to stick to the casingsurface, there will be less area of contact to '-be overcome in removingold cells. The other`function is to 'permit the rearward tapering oftheexterior of the'shell along'the length ofthe dry cells without requiringso` much thickness of, metal for' the 'casing 'near the for- Warddrycell as'would'be the` case if the` entire bore ofthe casing snuglytted.thejdry cells, l Anth@ reafvend ofthe bore zrandbehind me inner `drycell isv a hollow space `213M1Which h ouses a light "controlling switch24;. The switch is mounted by'screws 25' passing through theA shell, andthe switch is controlled'bywafinger piece 26 which extends througha slot211 in the shell at itsl underside and near 'its rear end, vthe lingerpie'cer26 beingintegral Withithe Switch' slide. A springfinger28,"which'ismounted on Athe switch and connected to lont `of'itsterminals, is bent around jhookwise e'lectricallyto engage one of the"contact surfaces (df the adjacent dry `cell and to urge thefdrycellsforwardly.

The lens i i9 "more foi- Iess semi-cylindrical andhasiarearwrdlydirected annularnange 29 f rducdextrnal diam'eter to 4-fit fwithin themouth of thebore 2l'- of rlthe icasing. Thereduced diameter of theflange ZQ-leavesashoulder h conformationfofthe casing-l 8; atitsfforward` end,

especially if the lens be made o f some trans-- i parent plastic, suchas Lucite, rather than of glass.

The screws 3| may be short enough ter-,be stantially countersunk withinthe 'thicknesspfi the shell adjacent its mouth, or, as shownin;

the drawings, a boss 33 may be provided in the casing for eachrsc'rew3|. In that case' the bosses-33 are 'preferably extendedv as taperingbeads 33", shown in Figures 4 and 5;`to present amore sightlyjappearanceand to facilitate the withdrawal of the casing from the casting mold orydie casting die;v as rthe case may be.

'The socketl'34 forithelamp bulb 35 'is conveniently mounted cn thereiiector3l. The reiiector`36'fi`s peripherally flanged, as' at 3l,V to@abut against the Iinner-end ofthefilange 29 to position the reflectorYand limit Aits, forwardmovement."The reflector iiang'e 31 is heldagainst the' e'nd1 of the' lens flange-29 by pressure of the springvnger '28`exerted through the dry cells and against thecenter contact cfthe bulb. Alfthou'ghfther'e issome slight inclination of the vaxis ofthelamp yI5, the light beam should have agreater'inclination in orderproperly'to illuminate the, foreground. It would not look well to'vgivethe axis of the lamp 'itselfithat much in-f clination. f l'crvvthis reason, I prefer to incline therais ofthe bulb and reflector. )Thisis shown vin the non-symmetrical section of Fig. 2. c

,'In order te', insure the proper rotary position of the nonsymmetricalreflector, I provide a slot 31uinthe flange 3'| of the .reflector,36 asshown in"Y Fig. '8, .This slet. receives a longitudinal rib'- 38,carriedbythe lcasing andextendinginto the bore 2|. ,'The rib 38 may beacontinuation, of reduced cross 'sectionQofthe' top rib 22 of the threeribs 22. ',The rib 38 and slot31', cooperate toinsure that theinclination of the axis of the lamp andreiiector surfaceswill cause thebeam to be deflected downwardly,. `rather than up,-` wardly or sidewise.The rib 38.,i s also received in `as1ot.|sfinfthe1ens hangers.. l

Although the peripheral edge-of the ange 31 of the reflector contactsthe ,bore of the-casing,

the Contact may not beY adequate toi rely upon in grounding the lampsocket .34 on the casing |8. 'I- prefer'to. .insureproper contact by.other and more formal means, such as aspringnger 39 @which resiliently`bears ,aga-inst, the bore 2|.

The inner endof the spring `finger is. shown as forming a vring lyingagainst l the margin ofthe sockethole'in the reflector 36 and' mountedupon the socket in"`electrical contacttherewith'bythesameA annular'crimping-which'Xes'the socket uDOn'the rei'lect'orl'" V Thel'amp isassembled 'as follows:

f 'First the SwitchassemblyA 24 'is inserted through the open-'endof'the bore of the' socket and' pushed-backinto'pcsitionjin Ytherearward space 23- where it? Incunted "on the interior of the casing bythe screws 25 with the linger engaging portion 26 of the switch slideprotruding through the slot 2l. Then the two dry cells are successivelyinserted into the bore, riding on the three ribs 22. It is immaterialwhether the dry cells are arranged with their center contacts to thefront or to the back. Then the assembled reflector 36, socket 34, springcontact nger 39 and lamp bulb 35 are inserted as a unit into the bore tothe position shown in Fig. 3, with the rib 38 received in the rim slot31 of the reflector. Next the flange 29 of the lens is inserted in thebore with the slot I9 of the lens receiving the forward end of the rib38. The lens is pushed from the position of Fig. 3 rearwardly to theposition of Fig. 2. Then the screws 3| are inserted and screwed home.The lens slot I9' and the rib 38 cooperate to insure a rotary position of the lens which brings the holes 32 in register with the holes in thecasing for the screws 3|.

` With the lens held against forward movement b y the screws, 'the othermembers within the casing are held against rearward movement by thepressure lof the spring finger 28, and they are limited in their forwardmovement by the lens. Y

The abovementioned assembly may be perfonnedfeither before or after thelamp is mounted Von thebicycle fender. By a partial reversal ofthisfassembly operation, the 'lamp bulb or the dry c'ells may be removedfor replacement, which Y paced vinwardlyrfrcm the bore 2|, it ispossible with a suitable tool or instrument to reach along the annularspace toA the back of the dry cell to pull it forwardly if it shouldbecome securely lodged'. Also, I provide a screw plug 42 in the rear endof the casing which, when removed, permits the insertion of a small rodby which a sticking cell may be pushed forwardly out of the casing. f Y

It will be seen that by my construction I have eliminated the usualbezelas a means of holding the lens on the lamp casing. This not onlyeliminates one part; but it presents a neater and trimmerstreamlinedappearance to the lamp. Even ifya bezel were set flush with thestreamlined-y contour, two annular lines would have to show. ,By myconstruction only one line shows and that would be inherent anyway inthe change from'the opaque casing to the transparent lens.

'In' Fig. l0 Iv have showna modification in which the bore 2 a'cf thelcasing |8a is of slightly lessdiameter, and the front end of the'casingis counterbored, as at 40, thereby leaving a forwardly facing shoulder4|. The end edge of the flange 29 of thelens I9 clamps the peripheralflange'31 of the reector 36 against the shoulder 4|, thereby making anelectrical contact which will permit ofv elimination of the springvcontact finger 39. For this purpose it may be advisable to makethereflector flange 31 slightly undulating, somewhat after the fashion ofthe crimping of a piecrust, to afford a certain resiliency of theclamped rim 3l to yinsure contact without the necessity of too accuratea manufacturing control ofthe longitudinal dimensions of the lens iiange29 and the counterbore 40. One reason Iffavor vthe preferred form'ratherthan the modication of. Fig. 10, isthat a lesser thickness of the metalin the wall of the casingis permitted if it be die cast or molded. Y 1

Having thus described specific embodiments of my invention, I claim:

1. A lamp for bicycles or the like comprising an elongated tubularcasing adapted to contain a dry cell and having an open end with acylindrical bore extending rearwardly therefrom, a lens closing theopening and protruding convexly therefrom, and bezel-less means formounting the lens in the casing comprising an integral cylindrical angeextending rearwardly from the lens in telescoping relation with the boreof the casing, the flange being of reduced diameter leaving a rearwardlyfacing shoulder which engages the forward end of the casing to present asingle exposed circular line of juncture between the lens and casing,locking means radially insertable from without the casing for engagingthe flange interiorly of the casing to hold the lens against forwardmovement, the locking means comprising a hole extending through the wallof the casing adjacent its front end, an opening in the flange of thelens, and -a lens locking member extending through the hole and into theopening, the casing having a longitudinal rib extending inwardly intoits interior and the flange of the lens having a slot for receiving therib as the lens flange is slid into the casing whereby to position thelens in predetermined angular relation to the casing to bring the twoholes in register, a reflector extending across the interior of thecasing and peripherally abutting the end of the lens flange, and springmeans urging the reflector forwardly against the end of the flange, thereflector having a peripheral slot for receiving the rib whereby topredetermine the angular position of the reflector in relation to thecasing.

2. A lamp for a bicycle or the like comprising an annular casing forhousing a lamp, a reflector,

and a dry cell axially aligned with the casing,-

the casing having a bore extending inwardly from its front edge forinsertion of the lamp, reflector and cell, and a lens convexlyprotruding from the front end of the casing to form a rounded nose forthe lamp in stream-lined continuation of the conformation of the casing,the lens having a cylindrical rearward flange of reduced diameter havingan annular shoulder of radial thickness agreeing with the thickness ofthe front edge of the casing and lying substantially thereagainst toleave a single circular line exposed between the lens and casing to theelimination of any bezel, the cylindrical flange being nonrotatablyreceived in the bore by rearward axial sliding movement and fitting thebore to provide a longitudinally deep contact therebetween for mountingthe lens, and means releasably accessible from without the casing, butexposed wholly rearwardly of the exposed portion of the lens, andpassing through the wall of the casing near its front end intoengagement with the lens flange for locking the lens against outwardmovement, the cell receiving portion of the casing having a set ofarcuately spaced longitudinal internal ribs for engaging the peripheryof the cell to position it, at least one of the ribs extending forwardlyinto the flange-receiving region of the bore, and the flange of the lenshaving a slot for receiving the rib to position the lens in pre-rdetermined angular relation to the casing.

FRANK W. SCHWINN.

